


Table for Two, Dinner for One

by raziraphale



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Anxiety, Dinner, Established Relationship, First Dates, M/M, Other, POV Outsider, Romantic Comedy, do i tag this as m/m or other??? do symbiotes have a gender??? help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 20:59:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16605344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raziraphale/pseuds/raziraphale
Summary: Eddie decides it's about time he and Venom go out for a proper dinner at a nice restaurant (without jumping into a lobster tank, that is). However, sitting alone at his table for two, Eddie is embarrassed to realize that the wait staff think he's been stood up.





	Table for Two, Dinner for One

**Author's Note:**

> so I wrote this short lil thing in a sleep-deprived frenzy after my brother gave me the hilarious prompt "eddie and venom go out on a date but everyone thinks he's been stood up"
> 
> thanks tony this was a lot of fun to write but I still hate that you've lowered me to the level of monsterfucker. I was already there but still

Nancy had had her suspicions almost as soon as he’d walked in, but that didn’t mean she was proud about being right. She’d seen enough people being stood up in her years as a waitress, and although she’d gotten better at being delicate, she still felt the same sad pity weighing on her heart.

“Table for…?” she’d asked as he’d walked in, accustomed to not making assumptions. Those dining alone never liked to be reminded of the fact, she’d learned. 

“Uh,” he’d said, his dark eyes a little vacant “Two?”

_Ah_. Nancy couldn’t help the mental sigh of recognition as she gathered up two menus and began to lead the man to his table, the uncertainty in his voice still prickling at the back of her mind. _This is going to end in tears_.

“I’ll come ‘round for your order once your companion arrives,” Nancy had said, trying to keep a hopeful note in her voice as he slid into the booth. He’d looked up at that, and she noticed the anxious shift in his eye, the nervous biting of his lip. He had started to open his mouth when she cut him off with the same forced optimism. “I’m sure they’ll turn up, but if you want to order before that just flag me down, alright?”

He had seemed to deflate at that, and Nancy felt that familiar pang in her chest. It really was a shame, she had thought, for he did seem like a nice enough guy at a glance. He was a little scruffy, a little haggard, maybe, but with a softness around the eyes, especially in the soft candlelight of the restaurant, that you never really saw on truly awful people. He wore a nice but ill-fitting suit, like he hadn’t had an occasion to wear it in a while. He was good enough looking, Nancy had tried to comfort herself as she walked back towards the kitchens, he would have plenty of chances after this one. He’d be fine.

Now, standing in the doorway to the kitchen, she peeked around the corner where the scruffy man still sat, alone. She could feel that familiar mix of sadness and guilt at being right swirling in her gut, as if simply knowing this was going to happen made her somehow responsible.

“Poor guy,” Nancy said in a whisper, glancing away from the sad scene in front of her to look at her watch.  Thirty minutes since he’d walked in, and he still hadn’t motioned for her. His persistence only made Nancy’s heart heavier. A man so stupidly optimistic rarely deserved being stood up.

“How long d’you think before he gives up?” whispered Scott over her shoulder, her co-worker peering around the corner to watch as he balanced a tray of drinks carelessly at his side. If he hadn’t been carrying something Nancy thought she might’ve smacked him for saying what even she didn’t want to admit.

“Well,” Nancy started, giving a defeated sigh instead “If he doesn’t signal in ten minutes I’m going over anyway.” _Someone has to put him out of his misery_ , she thought privately without relish.

Nancy and Scott lingered in the doorway another moment, ignoring the frustrated noises of the rest of the wait staff as they maneuvered around them. They both watched as the man, still alone at his table, slowly pressed his face into his open palms.

“Oh god, is he crying?” said Scott, nearly forgetting to whisper, and Nancy prickled at the hint of amusement in his voice “Been awhile since we had a crier.”

Nancy sighed again. She was already emotionally exhausted, and she still had four hours left in her shift. It was going to be a long night. “Guess I’ll wait until he gets himself together. Call me once he looks decent again.”

Shooting one last look at the lonely man, the two departed in different directions, busy once again.

***

_WE ARE HUNGRY_.

As if on cue, Eddie felt his stomach twinge and give an almost accusatory growl.

“I _know_ ,” Eddie insisted under his breath for what seemed like the dozenth time tonight, hiding his moving lips behind his open hands “Just… give me a second.”

_WHY HAVEN’T WE ORDERED YET? SHE SAID SHE WOULD COME IF YOU ASKED_

“Because…” Eddie responded through gritted teeth, already deeply regretting his choice to go out for a proper dinner for once “She thinks I’ve been stood up.” Eddie could feel Venom’s confusion in his head before the symbiote even spoke.

_STOOD UP?_

“She thinks my date isn’t coming,” Eddie explained, again from behind his hands “That I’ve been left alone.”

_BUT I’M HERE EDDIE._

Despite himself and his crippling anxiety, Eddie couldn’t help but feel a little warmer at that, as if the symbiote were giving him a hug. Maybe he was, Eddie thought, feeling a little less warm as he considered how the symbiote might be wrapping itself more tightly around his internal organs. This unsettling train of thought was interrupted by Venom’s hungry whining.

_WHY DON’T YOU CALL HER OVER? WE’RE HUNGRY._

“Because,” Eddie started, but didn’t elaborate.

He felt another twinge of anxiety as he thought of that look on the waitress’ face, the well-meaning but still patronizing look of pity. It was a familiar look. Eddie knew what it looked liked on all sorts of faces. He remembered how it looked on Anne’s, whenever he’d done something stupid – stirred the pot at work, forgotten a date, not known how to cook an egg. There was love in that look, sure, but it wasn’t the love of an equal. It was the look people gave to children who couldn’t yet understand what they’d done wrong. It was the face people gave to adults too, those who hadn’t really grown up enough to understand when they had well and truly fucked up. Anne had given him that look a lot, hands on her hips, disappointed to be taking the motherly role in an adult relationship yet again. Like loving Eddie was a chore.

_LOSER_.

Eddie started at the sound of Venom’s voice in his brain. The accusation didn’t have the usual bite to it, sounding more like a comforting reminder of he and Venom’s shared pathetic nature. It still wasn’t a nice sentiment, but at least they were equal. Two losers, sitting alone in a restaurant, one of them way too anxious to call over a waitress.

_I’M STILL HUNGRY THOUGH_. Venom sounded almost sheepish.

Eddie let his hands fall to the table with a dull thud, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips. “I know, I know,” he murmured, trying to calm the roiling symbiote as it curled and twisted warmly beneath his skin “I’m working up to it.”

Before Venom could even think to complain, Eddie’s head jerked up at the sound of clicking heels against the wooden floor of the restaurant, and a clear voice rising above the soft hum of conversation and clinking glasses “Ready to order?”

Eddie saw that familiar look on the waitress’ face as she peered down at him from behind her notepad and pencil. Sadness. Pity. Sympathy, but with a hint of condescension. He found he didn’t care though. He felt warm, deep in his chest, and he smiled. “I think I am, yeah.”

The waitress startled, confused, and cast a meaningful look at the empty booth opposite Eddie “Sure you don’t want to wait?” She asked, though even Eddie could detect the forced cheer in her voice.

He shook his head. “No, I think I’ve got everybody I need right here.”

Eddie tried to appreciate the genuine happiness and relief in her expression, as if she were truly comforted by his apparent grace at being stood up, but it was getting harder to focus as he felt his body heating up. Eddie felt his skin grow clammy, and a blush start to creep into his cheeks. It wasn’t coming from him.

_STOP IT._ Eddie felt his face grow hotter and struggled to stifle a laugh. _JUST ORDER. WE’RE HUNGRY._

“I think I’ll have the vegetable platter,” Eddie said as he handed the menu over to the smiling waitress, unable this time to suppress a chuckle as the symbiote rebelled inside him.

_NOOOOO TAKE IT BACK. WE’RE HUNGRY. WE NEED REAL FOOD, EDDIE._

“You deserve it,” Eddie mumbled to himself, though knowing already they’d be stopping on their way home from dinner for more food.

_LOSER._ The word still didn’t have any bite to it, and Eddie felt the symbiote settle once again, a warm and comfortable presence in his mind.

“You’re the loser,” Eddie retorted in the same tone. It sounded like a declaration.

***

Later that night, walking home with a long shift behind her, Nancy thought back to that man sitting alone in his booth. She thought of his awkward smile and couldn’t stop the strange thought that passed through her mind that hopefully, one day, she would find someone who loved her as much as that man loved himself.

She laughed aloud at the bizarre thought, her voice reaching an almost hysterical pitch that echoed through the quiet streets, and continued on her way, heels clicking against the pavement.

At the same time, across the city, two losers crossed the threshold of a shitty apartment, plastic bag filled with frozen tater tots in their hand, and a steady, warm feeling in their heart.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! xxx let me know if you spot any errors that I missed at 2am or if you have any general feedback comments are my life force
> 
> feel free to come scream with me over on my [tumblr](http://lokigoddessofstories.tumblr.com)


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